Democrats to amend controversial Rossi ad

'Sopranos' theme plays during video

Rachel La Corte, The Associated Press

Updated 10:00 pm, Wednesday, June 25, 2008

OLYMPIA -- The state Democratic Party says it will change a video ad that pictures Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi accompanied by the theme song from "The Sopranos," after a Seattle group said the ad was offensive to Italian-Americans.

The video played the theme song from the hit series about Italian-American mobsters, while criticizing Rossi's ties to the Building Industry Association of Washington, a powerful lobby group in the state. A black-and-white photo of Rossi, who is of Italian descent, is on-screen the entire time.

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"We understand that in this gubernatorial election, various claims will be made by candidates and interested parties against the other candidate," wrote club President Brian DiJulio. However, the video "attempting to associate Dino Rossi with criminal activity through the use of negative ethnic stereotyping is beyond offensive.

"Whether the state Democratic Party thought it clever to link Rossi to Italian-American criminals through the use of a popular mobster TV show is irrelevant; it is distasteful, and it is racist."

Democratic Party spokesman Kelly Steele said the video was not meant to imply a tie to the Mafia or organized crime.